Must be Jelly cause jam don't jiggle like that

99% of the time I'm a jam all the way kinda girl, bring on the bits and pieces of fruit I say! But when it comes to elderberry... jelly is preferred (too many hard seeds!!!). Have you ever picked elderberries? They are super tiny and take forever to destem so getting them prepared is a HUGE pain in the bum.

I swore I'd never make jam/jelly out of these things again, but a good friend of mine asked me to come over and help her make some jam. Of course I said yes! It wasn't until after the date was set she told me what kind we were making... elderberry... NOOOOO!! *cue scary foreboding music*

It all turned out well though, she did all of the destemming grunt work before I even walked in the door, so it was a total walk in the park! We used bal low sugar pectine to make this batch and although at first we didn't think it was going to set... it all turned out beautiful :)

Have you have had elderberries? Do you think they are worth the hassle?

Elderberry Jelly

recipe adapted from ball low sugar pectine

makes 6 (12 pint jars)

4 cups prepared elderberry juice

2/3 cup grape juice

1/4 cup lemon juice

4 Tbs ball low sugar pectin

1 cup sugar

PREPARE waterbath canner, jars and lids according to manufacturer's instructions, if preserving. Prepare and measure ingredients for recipe.

COMBINE prepared juice in an 8-quart saucepan. Gradually stir in Ball® RealFruit™ Pectin. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly.

LOL no worries being confused! Jelly is made from fruit juice, so you strain out all the bits of fruit so it's smooth with no lumps. Jam is made with the whole fruit so you get all the chunks and bits and fibery goodness!

Ha!!! Was just perusing to catch up on your site and ran across this :). My sister and I picked Elderberries a few weeks back ~ my first time. As we were finishing picking, I said Don't you think we should get another couple boxes? ( we were way WAY up n the mountains so wanted to make worth while). She looks at me strangely and says, er, no, I think were good. Needless to say, I have never ever had a berry almost best me. All I can say is a huge HUGE thank you to my Mama who helped me de-stem the millions of berries:). They do make a beautiful jam, jelly and liqueur. So, yes, I will likely be crazy lady and do again next year:). PS. Thank you for another wonderful jam exchange this year. My partner was fab!!!

Last fall I planted two elderberry bushes in my yard for the sake of nostalgia. When I was a little girl, my mom and aunts used to drive along country roads in Ohio and snip clusters of elderberries. When we got home, I'd be given bunches of elderberry clusters which I'd destem into a metal colander. I loved the tactile sense of the little berries coming off the stems and sliding through my fingers and the little pings of the berries hitting the metal colander. I loved it so much that I planted bushes just to recreate that memory. I knew exactly what I was getting into when I harvested my berries for the first time this summer. I've got three bags of berries in the freezer, and I'm going to make jelly out of them. No jam or pie for me, 'cause I hate eating the little seeds.

Never had elderberries. I know they grow here but havent found a bush yet was thinking of planting a couple around the house cause they keep down flies and we live in cattle countryI will join next years exchange I just found your sight yesterday while looking up recipes

use cheesecloth to strain the pieces out when I lived in Alaska we would go out after salmon berries and wild Northern low-bush Blueberries them babies a lot of work but this is how we made or jelly cause my mom dont like jam.

Anyone ever have spruce tip jelly its a springtime jelly haven't had since I left Alaska the first time. You cook the fresh tips down in water strain then make your jelly from the flavored water its awesome.

Well I researched it the bark has Alkaloids yes but so does Cherry leaves and Blueberry leaves if you put in boiling water the berries will quickly soften and you can strain without the Alkaloides leaching.. Quick note on Arsenic its in our food supply big time its fed to Cattle/Swine/Poultry as a fattener it helps the animal gain massive weights on less feed even dairy cattle is fed arsenic cause many dairy cattle are not Pastured. I got really sick a couple of years back and had to take meat off my diet for a while I now eat home raised meat and poultry and Venison any fish I eat is wild not farmed this change increased my overall health dramatically I lost 45lbs dropped cholesteral by 31 points and lowered blood pressure in less than 3 months

I just got some fresh grapes from someone at work and picked a bunch of elderberries to this is the prefect recipe. I am curious why the added grape juice on this one though. It sounds delicious, just looking for the process as you were developing the recipe. Thanks for sharing!

Disclaimer

So this is the spot where I tell you that you are a big boy or girl and make food choices for yourself. I'm not a dietitian... nor do I play one on TV! I do this for fun and for the sake of sharing and meeting new people. If you don't agree with what I cook or the ingredients I use that is 100% ok, please just don't harass me with insults about why I choose to eat the way I do :) thank you!

Questions? Comments? Arguments?

I'm always happy to answer any questions you have! I may not know the answer... but I'll give it a good go! You can email me at stephchows (at) gmail (dot) com